Spring-imparting pedestal for mounting a diving board



Aug. 11, 1970 J. w. KINSMAN SPRING-IMPARTING PEDESTAL FOR MOUNTING ADIVING-BOARD Filed Feb. 7, 1968 BY INVENTOR W w v H 1' 1* s.

John WKinsman United States Patent Oflice 3,523,688 Patented Aug. 11,1970 3,523,688 SPRlNG-IMPARTING PEDESTALFOR MOUNTING A DIVING BOARD JohnW. Kinsman, 17014 Oatfield Road, Milwaukie, Oreg. 97222 Filed Feb. 7,1968, Ser. No. 703,686 Int. Cl. A63b /08 U.S. Cl. 272-66 11 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pedestal for supporting the rear end of adiving board above the ground including a deformable and resilient wallcurving continuously about a substantially upright axis, with the wallcarrying substantially the full vertical load transmitted between thediving board sup ported thereon and the ground, and deformingresiliently with flexing of the board.

This invention relates to a mounting for supporting the rear end of adiving board above the ground. More particularly, it relates to apedestal-type mounting which is formed from a deformable and resilientmaterial which functions, with flexing of a diving board, to impart aspring to the board which is in addition to that achieved internally inthe board. The term board employed herein is intended to includematerials other than wood.

Over the years, mountings have been proposed for diving boards whichhave been intended to provide maximum spring action at the forward endof a board. However, many of such mountings are unsatisfactory sincethey introduce a spring action at the forward end of a board whichdetracts from, rather than enhances, the natural spring characteristicsof the board.

A general object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide anovel mounting for the rear end of a diving board which overcomes thisdeficiency, and which cooperates with a board to enhance the springaction available at the boards forward end.

More particularly, an object of the invention is to provide a novelpedestal mounting which includes a deformable and resilient wall whichcarries the full vertical load transmitted between the board and theground, and which deforms resiliently with flexing of the board.According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the wall is formedfrom a resin-impregnated fiber glass mat which, through deformation asjust mentioned, substantially enhances the spring action available atthe forward end of the board.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a pedestal whichis relatively simple to construct and install.

These and other objects and advantages attained by the invention willbecome more fully apparent as the descrip tion which follows is read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a pedestal constructedaccording to the present invention supporting a diving board above theground adjacent the edge of a swimming pool;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the pedestal and diving board ofFIG. 1, with portions of the pedestal broken away to illustrate detailsof the construction;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3--3 in FIG. 2;and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 2.

Turning now to the drawings, and referring first to FIG. 1, at is aconventional diving board having its rear end supported above the groundby means of a pedestal 12 which is constructed according to the presentinvention. The pedestal is secured in place by means of fasteners suchas those shown at 14 which anchor its base to the ground. The rear endof the diving board is secured to the top of the pedestal by means of aplate 16, which overlies the top of the diving board, and bolts, orattaching means, 18. The forward end of board 10 extends outwardly overan edge of a swimming pool 20.

Considering the construction of pedestal 12, and re ferring to FIGS.2-4, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the pedestalcomprises upper and lower sections 22, 24, respectively. Upper section22 is formed of a suitable deformable and resilient material such as aresin-impregnated fiber glass mat. It includes a central portion 2211which occupies a substantially horizontal plane with the pedestalmounted in place, and an upright, continuous curved wall portion 22bextending upwardly from the central portion. More specifically, and ascan be seen in FIG. 4, wall portion 22b in horizontal cross section hasan ovate configuration, with the major axis thereof extending from thefront to the rear of the pedestal, and the minor axis extending at aright angle to the major axis. The upper part of wall portion 22bterminates in a portion 220 having a substantially rectangular outlinewhen viewed in plan. Portion 22c directly underlies diving board 10.

Embedded in the mat which forms section 22, adjacent the forward andrear parts of portion 220 are elongated horizontal strengthening ribs26, 28, respectively, which extend transversely of the pedestal. In theembodiment shown, such ribs are made of wood. Previously mentioned bolts18 securing the rear of the diving board to the pedestal extenddownwardly through suitable accommodating bores, or mounting means,provided in the mat and in rib 28, and are held in place by nuts, suchas nut 29 (FIG. 2). Suitably secured above rib 26 is an elongated rubbermat, or rest, 30 which supports the under face of board 10 where itoverlies rib 26.

Lower section 24 is formed from the same material as that used forsection 22, and includes a central portion 24:: which matches withsection 22a, and a continuous curved wall portion 24b which extendsdownwardly, as shown, from the central portion. Sections 22, 24 arejoined to perform as a unit by means of fasteners 32 securing togethercentral portions 22a, 24a.

With the upper and lower sections of the pedestal joined together, wallportions 22b, 24b together form a wall in the pedestal wherein oppositesides, when viewed in vertical cross section (as, for example, in FIGS.2 and 3), curve along opposed reversely bent courses. Further describingthe wall, the same is symmetric relative to an upright plane 34 (FIGS. 3and 4) which contains the longitudinal center line of the pedestal, butis nonsymmetric relative to an upright plane 36 (FIGS. 2

and 4) disposed as shown at a right angle to plane 34.

Such nonsymrnetry results from the fact, and considering now FIG. 2,that the part of wall portion 22b which is disposed forwardly of plane36 extends further way from such plane as it curves toward the forwardmargin of portion 22c than does the part of the wall portion which isdisposed rearwardly of plane 36. The Wall herein curves about a uprightaxis coinciding with the line of intersection of planes 34, 36.

Considering now how pedestal 12 performs, with diving board 10 in anonflexed state, which is the condition for the board illustrated insolid outline in FIG. 2, the upper and lower sections of the pedestaloccupy the positions where they are shown in solid outline. When thediving board is flexed to its dash-dot outline position, for example dueto a person jumping on the forward I end of the board, the pedestaldeforms to have the configuration shown in dash-dot outline in FIG. 2.More specifically, the forward parts of wall portions 22b, 24b arecompressed and shifted rearwardly somewhat from their solid outlinepositions, and the rear parts of the wall portions are tensed and alsourged rearwardly of their solid outline positions. Because of thestressed conditions which result in the pedestal due to suchdeformation, and because of the resilience present in the fiber glassmat making up the pedestal, the same imparts'a spring to board whichenhances the spring action produced at the forward end of the board.More specifically, the pedestal imparts a spring which contributes to,but does not override, the natural spring present in the board.

Thus, the invention provides a novel pedestal for supporting the rear ofa diving board, which pedestal deforms resiliently with flexing of theboard in a manner enhancing the spring action produced at the forwardend of the board. An important feature of the invention is that theenhanced spring action results from the resilience present in the wallof the pedestal through which substantially the full vertical load fromthe board is transmitted to the ground. Also contributing is the factthat the wall has a configuration readily permitting stressing anddeforming to positions such as those shown in dash-dot outline in FIG.2. Accordingly, no springs are required to be attached to the board.

Because of the ovate cross-sectional outline which the wall has, whenviewed as in FIG. 4, maximum strength is obtained in the construction,with the wall permitted to deform, but not to deform so much as tofatigue.

Further, it will be noted that the pedestal proposed is relativelysimple in construction, and can readily be mounted in place. While thepedestal shown comprises upper and lower sections, which are preferredsince they can be formed through relatively simple molding techniques,it should be appreciated that the pedestal may be formed as all onepiece.

While an embodiment of the invention has been described herein, it isappreciated that variations and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, it is desiredto cover all such variations and modifications which become apparent tothose skilled in the art and which come within the scope of the appendedclaims.

It is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A spring-imparting pedestal for supporting the rear end of a divingboard above the ground comprising,

a deformable and resilient wall curving continuously about asubstantially upright axis, said wall having front and rear sides, andbeing constructed to carry substantially the full vertical loadtransmitted between such a board supported on the pedestal and theground, and to deform resiliently with flexing of the board,

and mounting means located adjacent the rear side and near the top ofsaid wall accommodating attachment of a diving board with the boardextending from said mounting means toward and laterally beyond saidfront side of said Wall.

2. The pedestal of claim 1, wherein opposite sides of said wall, withthe wall viewed in cross section in all planes containing said axis,curve along opposed reversely bent courses.

3. The pedestal of claim 2, wherein said wall, when upper portion ofsaid wall, the part thereof disposed forwardly of the upright planecontaining said minor axis extends further away from said plane thandoes the part which is disposed rearwardly of such plane.

6. The pedestal of claim 5, wherein said wall is formed from aresin-impregnated fiber glass mat.

7. The pedestal of claim 6 which includes upper and lower sections thatare joined together to perform as a unit.

8. The pedestal of claim 1 which further comprises a rest locatedadjacent the top and near the front side of said wall for engaging thebottom side of a diving board supported on the pedestal.

9. The pedestal of claim 1 which further comprises a strengthening ribpositioned adjacent said mounting means.

10. The pedestal of claim 8 which further comprises a strengthening ribpositioned adjacent said rest.

11. The combination of an elongated diving board having front and rearends,

a pedestal beneath the rear end of said board support- References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 12/ 1959 Towle 272--66 8/1961 Wittrup 272-6612/1965 Platner 108l50 X 1/1966 Watson 108150 9/ 1967 Erickson 27266CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 24835O

